Changes: Chapter 2
By: Mira Elizabeth
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is the property of Disney/Pixar. All other characters are mine.
The servant raced through the hallways, making sure to stay in the shadows as he moved. He finally reached his destination and ghosted through the wall. The servant looked around frantically, checking to make sure that no one had seen him. He rushed over to a console and pressed a button, activating the system. He looked around again to make sure no one was there and then turned his attentions back to the console. He punched a few more buttons and then smiled to himself. The message had been sent.
He just hoped it would reach its destination.
Buzz Lightyear leaned back in his chair and frowned at the numbers as they popped up on his console's viewscreen. The energy reading taken from the mineshafts on Lindar 5 were fluctuating a little too much for his liking.
"Booster, see if you can increase the signal coming from Lindar 5. Maybe that is causing these readings."
"Roger, Buzz." Booster's cheerful voice came from behind him.
The Ranger watched as a new set of numbers appeared on the screen and he looked up from his console, staring out into the vastness of space, his mind becoming lost somewhere in the stars. The beeping coming from Star Cruiser 42's communication system snapped him out of his momentary reverie.
"Buzz…"
Lightyear looked up at the comm screen and saw the face of Commander Nebula staring back at him. The older man looked tired, upset even. Buzz shifted in his chair and found his voice.
"Yes, Commander."
"The Alliance has just received a urgent communication from King Nova…"
"Is there something wrong with Mi…I mean Queen Mira?"
The Commander sighed. "Apparently Nova was returning back to Tangea when he received a message from the Tangean palace that a resistance group has taken over. Her Majesty has been taken captive and her husband is missing."
"How did King Nova get the message then? I would think that if this resistance group wants control over the royal family, then they would make sure that every member of it was on the planet."
"Somehow one of the palace servants managed to transmit a message to Nova's ship. He's en route to Star Command now." The Commander paused. "He asked that you and your team handle this."
"Was there any other information given? Like who was involved in this rebellion?"
"No. There wasn't enough time for the servant to go into detail. But he did say that he would try to contact the king's ship again if he could. For now, this servant seems to be our only link to the planet. Communications with Tangea have been stopped and this resistance group has not contacted anyone as of yet." Nebula responded. "We need to know what is going on there, Buzz, and to save the Queen."
"Yes, sir. Lightyear out."
The Commander's face disappeared from the screen and was replaced with the Star Command insignia. Buzz sat silent in his seat for a moment, trying to process the information he had received. No sound came from behind him and he knew that Booster and XR were just as stunned and upset as he was. He did not need to see their faces, their silence said everything.
Finally the seasoned ranger turned and looked at his crew. No one said anything for a moment, until Booster finally spoke.
"What do we do now, Buzz?"
"We go to Tangea."
Lord Reno sat at the end of the council table, his gaze focused on the young woman seated near him. Two guards kept close to the Queen, preventing her from leaving. She was looking at him with such fury that a lesser man might have been intimidated by her glare, but not Reno. He was a seasoned statesman, having served the royal family for more that two decades. The councilor was proud of his position and his people, and he shared his people's prejudices against other races.
But unbeknownst to the Queen and every other ruler he served under, Reno not only shared those prejudices, he embraced them whole-heartedly. He continued to stare at Mira, not saying a word. He hated her, hated the child she was carrying. To Lord Reno she was contaminated, having served in Star Command with the other beings of the universe and having joined in a union with a being of another race. The action that had fully condemned her in his eyes was conceiving a child with that being. He wanted to rid Tangea of her.
"Excuse me, Lord Reno…"
The Tangean turned and looked at the young servant standing nervously behind him.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I…I was sent by Lord Arzekov to tell you that all persons loyal to the Queen have been taken prisoner. He said that there weren't many who opposed the rebellion and most of the ones who did were convinced to agree with the council's position."
"Good. And what of the Spirit? Has he been found yet?"
"No, sir. The palace guards are still searching for him." The servant said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Make sure that he is found and do it quickly. The only one remaining is our former king and he is on his way back to the planet." Reno waved the servant away and then turned his attention back to Mira. "You see, Majesty, you are finished here. No one is loyal to you and no one who will come to your aid and…"
Lord Arzekov ghosted through the council room wall, interrupting him.
"Did you get my message?" Arzekov asked.
Reno nodded. "No one has seen the Spirit?"
The other councilor shook his head. "No, we have no idea as of yet where he has gone. Maybe he has left the planet…"
Lord Reno laughed at Arzekov's last statement. "Do you here that, Your Majesty? Your husband has probably deserted you…"
"No!" Mira cried out, trying to blink back the tears that stung her eyes. "You're wrong!"
"Am I?" Reno smiled at her. "Now, I suggest that you accept your defeat, accept exile, and hope that our people will forgive you for allowing the contamination of our world to happen…"
"Never!" She hissed, glaring up at him. "I am Queen of this planet. I will never step down from the throne, especially to let a traitor like you take control."
Reno slammed his fist down on the table. The young woman seated across the table from him did not even flinch. She just continued to stare at him, her blue eyes filled with contempt and defiance.
"Why you stubborn, stupid…" He started but Lord Arzekov put a hand on his arm, stopping Reno from continuing his tirade.
"Remember, we do not yet have complete control of this planet. We cannot yet account for the whereabouts of her husband and King Nova. Also the Galactic Alliance still considers her our Queen. Your words could have consequences." Arzekov said.
Mira narrowed her eyes in anger. "Yes. I would listen to his warning, Lord Reno. Your words could be your last."
The man leaned across the table, his face very close to hers. "You are in no position to make threats, Your Majesty."
"It is not a threat. If Alliance should ever hear of this, they will send the Rangers and you will have to deal with them. I am fairly certain that Tangea would be outgunned by Star Command."
"By the time the Alliance gets word of this, you will no longer be here and the plan to return Tangea to the way she was before will be well underway." Reno motioned to the two guards positioned on either side of Mira. "Take her back to her quarters, make sure all comm channels are disabled, and make sure no one gets in or out. We'll decide what to do with her later."
Mira was pulled roughly to her feet by the two guards and led out of the council room, each guard having a tight grip on her arms. She struggled a bit, but her pregnancy and her exhaustion prevented her from breaking free from their grasp. Realizing that escaping was going to be futile, she allowed herself to be taken back to her quarters.
And under the watchful eyes of the guards, she waited for whatever fate had in store for her. The Queen felt her baby move and she placed a hand on her belly. Tears filled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, baby. You're not even born yet and already I'm a bad mother." Mira whispered, running her hand back and forth over her belly. "I can't even protect you."
Terrin followed the servant through the hallways until they reached the palace's shuttle bay.
"Over there…" The servant whispered. "…is the shuttle I was telling you about. If you hurry, you can leave the planet and they will never know. The comm and tracking systems are temporarily down until Lord Reno can transfer them to his complete control. You will not be detected if you leave now."
"I can't leave. My wife, my child…" The Spirit protested.
"Look there isn't any time to argue. All I can say is that Lord Reno's rebellion isn't as foolproof as he would like to think it is. The Queen will be safe. She is the only one who can keep Star Command from attacking. But the Alliance is already aware of this rebellion. I made sure of it." The servant said.
"But why? Why would you help me? Help her?"
"Because it is the right thing to do. Now go. Get to Star Command. Her father will be waiting for you there. I have already made contact with the Alliance informing them that you are coming."
"But how…I mean if the comm channels are down…" Terrin asked.
"We servants know a few tricks. The comm channels are easy to override." The servant smiled.
Terrin shook the man's hand. "Thank you. For everything."
The servant watched the Spirit dart over to the waiting shuttle and within a few moments, the little shuttle had disappeared into the atmosphere.
"Approaching Tangea, Buzz." XR announced.
"Slow the engines and we'll take position behind Ina." Lightyear said, pointing to the moon closest to the planet. "Ina's ion fields should provide us cover from detection."
"Gotcha." The little robot punched a few buttons on his console and the cruiser's speed slowed. Buzz eased the ship into position behind the small moon, careful not to get too close to Ina's ion fields.
Lightyear pressed the comm link on his console, contacting Star Command. He waited a moment before Commander Nebula appeared on the screen.
"We've reached Tangea, sir, and are now in a holding position behind one of the moons."
"Have you been detected?"
"No, not that I am aware of. I made sure that we stayed behind Ina because the ion fields in the moon's atmosphere will help prevent them from finding out we're here."
The Commander smiled. "Good. We'll need the element of surprise."
"Sir, if I may, getting control of the planet away from the resistance is important, but getting Queen Mira away from the planet should be our first priority." Buzz said.
"Yes, I know. That will be what you and your team will do. Get the Queen off of the planet and to safety. The question is how."
Lightyear thought for a moment, remembering back to a time not so long ago when a certain princess had wanted to sneak a certain small ship past Zurg's defenses. He smiled.
"Commander, do you remember when the Alpha-1 was still a proto-type?"
"Yeah, so…"
"Mira had wanted to use it to pass through Zurg's defenses because the ship was so small."
"The Commander laughed. "I remember that. You were so mad she had come up with such a brilliant idea. But then again, you never liked being upstaged, did you, Buzz?"
Buzz frowned a little, embarrassed. "We could do the same thing here, but with a shuttle. I am positive that a shuttle won't be detected by the resistance. Booster can stay here with 42 while XR and I head down to the planet. The only thing is that we do not yet know where she is being held captive within the palace…"
"Uh, maybe we do." XR chimed in. "Her life signs…"
"Her what? Lightyear, what is that pile of spare parts rambling on about?"
"We still have a copy of the energy signature created by Mira's life signs onboard 42. I could recalibrate my sensors to pick up any matching signatures. I can't guarantee it'll be exact, but it's probably the best shot we have." The little robot said, beaming and obviously proud of himself.
"Good. Get to it."
"Gotcha Pop!" XR suddenly disappeared down the hatch beneath him and up a tube and over to engineering.
The Commander frowned and sighed. "Just get down to the planet and get the Queen. Let me know as soon as you have her safely on board the cruiser."
"Yes sir."
The Commander's face disappeared and Lightyear turned to Booster. The large alien's red face was twisted with disappointment.
Buzz sighed. "Booster, I need you here to keep 42 running in case we have to leave quickly…"
"Buzz, I've calibrated my sensors. We're ready to go." XR's voice came over the comm link, interrupting him.
"Let's get going then. I'll meet you on the shuttle."
Lord Reno ghosted through the wall of the council room, furious that no one had found the missing Spirit. He was at least safe in the knowledge that the Queen was locked away in her quarters under guard. At least that was one person that he didn't have to worry about for the moment.
He stormed down the palace's main hallway, shoving angrily past servants and courtiers, and out onto the large balcony that wrapped around the palace. He stared off into the sky, hoping that a breath of fresh air would help calm him. He had to be in control of everything, including himself, if his plans for the planet were to be successful. He stood there for a few moments.
"Reno, I have news…" Arzekov said from behind him.
The Tangean turned and saw the other councilor's distressed face.
"What? What is it?"
Arzekov sighed. "A shuttle is missing. The Spirit has fled the planet, I am sure of it."
Reno slammed his hand on the balcony's railing and gripped it tightly. "You do know what this means, don't you?"
"Yes, if he has escaped than the first place he will go is to the Alliance. I am sure he has warned King Nova of our situation and I am sure the two of them have sought asylum from the Alliance."
"Right and Star Command will be sending ships to attack. I am sure they are en route now." Reno looked up at the sky. "Everything was going so well."
"What about the Queen?"
"If the Alliance is going to be sending Star Command, well then she is of no use to us…"
Arzekov regarded the other man with alarm. "Surely you don't mean…wait…maybe we could use her to convince the Alliance…"
"No. She has no use to us and I will not have this planet returning to her rule, no matter what the Alliance says. I only know of one way that can be guaranteed."
Chapter 3 coming soon…
By: Mira Elizabeth
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is the property of Disney/Pixar. All other characters are mine.
The servant raced through the hallways, making sure to stay in the shadows as he moved. He finally reached his destination and ghosted through the wall. The servant looked around frantically, checking to make sure that no one had seen him. He rushed over to a console and pressed a button, activating the system. He looked around again to make sure no one was there and then turned his attentions back to the console. He punched a few more buttons and then smiled to himself. The message had been sent.
He just hoped it would reach its destination.
Buzz Lightyear leaned back in his chair and frowned at the numbers as they popped up on his console's viewscreen. The energy reading taken from the mineshafts on Lindar 5 were fluctuating a little too much for his liking.
"Booster, see if you can increase the signal coming from Lindar 5. Maybe that is causing these readings."
"Roger, Buzz." Booster's cheerful voice came from behind him.
The Ranger watched as a new set of numbers appeared on the screen and he looked up from his console, staring out into the vastness of space, his mind becoming lost somewhere in the stars. The beeping coming from Star Cruiser 42's communication system snapped him out of his momentary reverie.
"Buzz…"
Lightyear looked up at the comm screen and saw the face of Commander Nebula staring back at him. The older man looked tired, upset even. Buzz shifted in his chair and found his voice.
"Yes, Commander."
"The Alliance has just received a urgent communication from King Nova…"
"Is there something wrong with Mi…I mean Queen Mira?"
The Commander sighed. "Apparently Nova was returning back to Tangea when he received a message from the Tangean palace that a resistance group has taken over. Her Majesty has been taken captive and her husband is missing."
"How did King Nova get the message then? I would think that if this resistance group wants control over the royal family, then they would make sure that every member of it was on the planet."
"Somehow one of the palace servants managed to transmit a message to Nova's ship. He's en route to Star Command now." The Commander paused. "He asked that you and your team handle this."
"Was there any other information given? Like who was involved in this rebellion?"
"No. There wasn't enough time for the servant to go into detail. But he did say that he would try to contact the king's ship again if he could. For now, this servant seems to be our only link to the planet. Communications with Tangea have been stopped and this resistance group has not contacted anyone as of yet." Nebula responded. "We need to know what is going on there, Buzz, and to save the Queen."
"Yes, sir. Lightyear out."
The Commander's face disappeared from the screen and was replaced with the Star Command insignia. Buzz sat silent in his seat for a moment, trying to process the information he had received. No sound came from behind him and he knew that Booster and XR were just as stunned and upset as he was. He did not need to see their faces, their silence said everything.
Finally the seasoned ranger turned and looked at his crew. No one said anything for a moment, until Booster finally spoke.
"What do we do now, Buzz?"
"We go to Tangea."
Lord Reno sat at the end of the council table, his gaze focused on the young woman seated near him. Two guards kept close to the Queen, preventing her from leaving. She was looking at him with such fury that a lesser man might have been intimidated by her glare, but not Reno. He was a seasoned statesman, having served the royal family for more that two decades. The councilor was proud of his position and his people, and he shared his people's prejudices against other races.
But unbeknownst to the Queen and every other ruler he served under, Reno not only shared those prejudices, he embraced them whole-heartedly. He continued to stare at Mira, not saying a word. He hated her, hated the child she was carrying. To Lord Reno she was contaminated, having served in Star Command with the other beings of the universe and having joined in a union with a being of another race. The action that had fully condemned her in his eyes was conceiving a child with that being. He wanted to rid Tangea of her.
"Excuse me, Lord Reno…"
The Tangean turned and looked at the young servant standing nervously behind him.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I…I was sent by Lord Arzekov to tell you that all persons loyal to the Queen have been taken prisoner. He said that there weren't many who opposed the rebellion and most of the ones who did were convinced to agree with the council's position."
"Good. And what of the Spirit? Has he been found yet?"
"No, sir. The palace guards are still searching for him." The servant said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
"Make sure that he is found and do it quickly. The only one remaining is our former king and he is on his way back to the planet." Reno waved the servant away and then turned his attention back to Mira. "You see, Majesty, you are finished here. No one is loyal to you and no one who will come to your aid and…"
Lord Arzekov ghosted through the council room wall, interrupting him.
"Did you get my message?" Arzekov asked.
Reno nodded. "No one has seen the Spirit?"
The other councilor shook his head. "No, we have no idea as of yet where he has gone. Maybe he has left the planet…"
Lord Reno laughed at Arzekov's last statement. "Do you here that, Your Majesty? Your husband has probably deserted you…"
"No!" Mira cried out, trying to blink back the tears that stung her eyes. "You're wrong!"
"Am I?" Reno smiled at her. "Now, I suggest that you accept your defeat, accept exile, and hope that our people will forgive you for allowing the contamination of our world to happen…"
"Never!" She hissed, glaring up at him. "I am Queen of this planet. I will never step down from the throne, especially to let a traitor like you take control."
Reno slammed his fist down on the table. The young woman seated across the table from him did not even flinch. She just continued to stare at him, her blue eyes filled with contempt and defiance.
"Why you stubborn, stupid…" He started but Lord Arzekov put a hand on his arm, stopping Reno from continuing his tirade.
"Remember, we do not yet have complete control of this planet. We cannot yet account for the whereabouts of her husband and King Nova. Also the Galactic Alliance still considers her our Queen. Your words could have consequences." Arzekov said.
Mira narrowed her eyes in anger. "Yes. I would listen to his warning, Lord Reno. Your words could be your last."
The man leaned across the table, his face very close to hers. "You are in no position to make threats, Your Majesty."
"It is not a threat. If Alliance should ever hear of this, they will send the Rangers and you will have to deal with them. I am fairly certain that Tangea would be outgunned by Star Command."
"By the time the Alliance gets word of this, you will no longer be here and the plan to return Tangea to the way she was before will be well underway." Reno motioned to the two guards positioned on either side of Mira. "Take her back to her quarters, make sure all comm channels are disabled, and make sure no one gets in or out. We'll decide what to do with her later."
Mira was pulled roughly to her feet by the two guards and led out of the council room, each guard having a tight grip on her arms. She struggled a bit, but her pregnancy and her exhaustion prevented her from breaking free from their grasp. Realizing that escaping was going to be futile, she allowed herself to be taken back to her quarters.
And under the watchful eyes of the guards, she waited for whatever fate had in store for her. The Queen felt her baby move and she placed a hand on her belly. Tears filled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, baby. You're not even born yet and already I'm a bad mother." Mira whispered, running her hand back and forth over her belly. "I can't even protect you."
Terrin followed the servant through the hallways until they reached the palace's shuttle bay.
"Over there…" The servant whispered. "…is the shuttle I was telling you about. If you hurry, you can leave the planet and they will never know. The comm and tracking systems are temporarily down until Lord Reno can transfer them to his complete control. You will not be detected if you leave now."
"I can't leave. My wife, my child…" The Spirit protested.
"Look there isn't any time to argue. All I can say is that Lord Reno's rebellion isn't as foolproof as he would like to think it is. The Queen will be safe. She is the only one who can keep Star Command from attacking. But the Alliance is already aware of this rebellion. I made sure of it." The servant said.
"But why? Why would you help me? Help her?"
"Because it is the right thing to do. Now go. Get to Star Command. Her father will be waiting for you there. I have already made contact with the Alliance informing them that you are coming."
"But how…I mean if the comm channels are down…" Terrin asked.
"We servants know a few tricks. The comm channels are easy to override." The servant smiled.
Terrin shook the man's hand. "Thank you. For everything."
The servant watched the Spirit dart over to the waiting shuttle and within a few moments, the little shuttle had disappeared into the atmosphere.
"Approaching Tangea, Buzz." XR announced.
"Slow the engines and we'll take position behind Ina." Lightyear said, pointing to the moon closest to the planet. "Ina's ion fields should provide us cover from detection."
"Gotcha." The little robot punched a few buttons on his console and the cruiser's speed slowed. Buzz eased the ship into position behind the small moon, careful not to get too close to Ina's ion fields.
Lightyear pressed the comm link on his console, contacting Star Command. He waited a moment before Commander Nebula appeared on the screen.
"We've reached Tangea, sir, and are now in a holding position behind one of the moons."
"Have you been detected?"
"No, not that I am aware of. I made sure that we stayed behind Ina because the ion fields in the moon's atmosphere will help prevent them from finding out we're here."
The Commander smiled. "Good. We'll need the element of surprise."
"Sir, if I may, getting control of the planet away from the resistance is important, but getting Queen Mira away from the planet should be our first priority." Buzz said.
"Yes, I know. That will be what you and your team will do. Get the Queen off of the planet and to safety. The question is how."
Lightyear thought for a moment, remembering back to a time not so long ago when a certain princess had wanted to sneak a certain small ship past Zurg's defenses. He smiled.
"Commander, do you remember when the Alpha-1 was still a proto-type?"
"Yeah, so…"
"Mira had wanted to use it to pass through Zurg's defenses because the ship was so small."
"The Commander laughed. "I remember that. You were so mad she had come up with such a brilliant idea. But then again, you never liked being upstaged, did you, Buzz?"
Buzz frowned a little, embarrassed. "We could do the same thing here, but with a shuttle. I am positive that a shuttle won't be detected by the resistance. Booster can stay here with 42 while XR and I head down to the planet. The only thing is that we do not yet know where she is being held captive within the palace…"
"Uh, maybe we do." XR chimed in. "Her life signs…"
"Her what? Lightyear, what is that pile of spare parts rambling on about?"
"We still have a copy of the energy signature created by Mira's life signs onboard 42. I could recalibrate my sensors to pick up any matching signatures. I can't guarantee it'll be exact, but it's probably the best shot we have." The little robot said, beaming and obviously proud of himself.
"Good. Get to it."
"Gotcha Pop!" XR suddenly disappeared down the hatch beneath him and up a tube and over to engineering.
The Commander frowned and sighed. "Just get down to the planet and get the Queen. Let me know as soon as you have her safely on board the cruiser."
"Yes sir."
The Commander's face disappeared and Lightyear turned to Booster. The large alien's red face was twisted with disappointment.
Buzz sighed. "Booster, I need you here to keep 42 running in case we have to leave quickly…"
"Buzz, I've calibrated my sensors. We're ready to go." XR's voice came over the comm link, interrupting him.
"Let's get going then. I'll meet you on the shuttle."
Lord Reno ghosted through the wall of the council room, furious that no one had found the missing Spirit. He was at least safe in the knowledge that the Queen was locked away in her quarters under guard. At least that was one person that he didn't have to worry about for the moment.
He stormed down the palace's main hallway, shoving angrily past servants and courtiers, and out onto the large balcony that wrapped around the palace. He stared off into the sky, hoping that a breath of fresh air would help calm him. He had to be in control of everything, including himself, if his plans for the planet were to be successful. He stood there for a few moments.
"Reno, I have news…" Arzekov said from behind him.
The Tangean turned and saw the other councilor's distressed face.
"What? What is it?"
Arzekov sighed. "A shuttle is missing. The Spirit has fled the planet, I am sure of it."
Reno slammed his hand on the balcony's railing and gripped it tightly. "You do know what this means, don't you?"
"Yes, if he has escaped than the first place he will go is to the Alliance. I am sure he has warned King Nova of our situation and I am sure the two of them have sought asylum from the Alliance."
"Right and Star Command will be sending ships to attack. I am sure they are en route now." Reno looked up at the sky. "Everything was going so well."
"What about the Queen?"
"If the Alliance is going to be sending Star Command, well then she is of no use to us…"
Arzekov regarded the other man with alarm. "Surely you don't mean…wait…maybe we could use her to convince the Alliance…"
"No. She has no use to us and I will not have this planet returning to her rule, no matter what the Alliance says. I only know of one way that can be guaranteed."
Chapter 3 coming soon…